Glassware transferring mechanism



' A ay 3, 19511 0. SMITH Em. 254mm GLASSWARE TRANSFERRING MECHANISMFiled April 4, 1947 5 Sheets-Sheet l VQLI Wm- Filed April 4, 1947 O.SMH'H HAL GLASSWARE TRANSFERRING MECHANISM 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 m I I H m d)n a.

" INVENTORS 1 $11111]; i if fladlfg Aprifi 1191 0. SMITH ETAL GLASSWARETRANSFERRING MECHANISM 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed April 4, 1947 N VEN TORfiaim/5mm By Um! jimmy f7 TTURNEY Q. SMITH ETTAL.

I GLASSWARE TRANSFERRING MECHANISM Filed April 4, 1947 5 Sheets-Sheet 4INVENTORS 01ml Smith BY Ural fflad/eq fl TTORNE Y Aprii 3, 1951 0. SMITHEl'AL 2,547,791

GLASSWARE TRANSFERRING MECHANISM Filed April 4, 1947 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 2""I i 3 "Unwind Fl INVENTORS 614a! Smiih BY flral I. Jud/4y KMM HTTORNEY Patented Apr. 3, 1951 UNITED sTATEs PATENT OFFICE opal Smith an OralC.Dudley, Winchester, Ind., I assignors to Anchor Hocking GlassCorporation, Lancaster, Ohio, a corporation of Delaware ApplicationApril 4, 1947, Serial No. 739,322

11 Claims. (01. 198-31) The present invention relates to, transferringmechanisms or devices and more particularly to one adapted to moveglassware froma conveyor belt onto the belt of an annealing lehr.

In the manufacture of glassware it is customary to first mold or formarticles from molten glass and to then transfer the formed articles toan annealing lehr for removing or relieving objectionable internalstresses and strains set up upon cooling of the article. If suchstresses and strains are allowed to remain, the resulting articles areobjectionably brittle and subject to excessive breakage during use. 7

Where articles are manufactured continuously in large quantities byglass machinery it is most desirable, for eflicient operation that everypossible operation be performedmechanically and it is hence preferablethat means be provided for continuously and automatically transferringarticles to a lehr belt. Such machines or devices are referred togenerally as lehr loaders or stackers.

The present invention aims to satisfy the above and other requirementsoradvantages by providing anew and improved mechanism. or device forreceiving glasswarefrom a forming machine and automatically, andcontinuously transferring it to a moving lehr belt. 1

An object, ofthe present inventionis to provide a new and improvedylehrloading mechanism. I

Another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved lehrloading ,mechanism adapted to minimize the possibility; of upsetting oroverturning glass articles.

Another object of the invention is to providea to provide a lehr loaderwhich maybe readily and inexpensively manufactured.

Other and further objects of the invention will be obvious upon anunderstanding of the illustrative embodiment about to be described,or'will be indicated in the appended claims, and various advantages notreferred to herein will occur" to one skilled in the art upon employmentof the invention in practice. e

-A preferred embodiment of the invention has been chosen for purposesofillustration and description and is shown in the accompanyingdrawings, forming a part of the specification. wherein:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view showing a preferred embodiment of thepresent invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view showing the upper part of themechanism illustrated in Fig. 1 with the parts in a different position;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of themechanism illustrated in Fig.1;

a 2 Fig. 4 is a front elevational view of the machine illustrated inFigs. 1 and 3 Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken the line 55 ofFig. 4;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 66of Fig. 4;

Fig. '7 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken along the linesl-l of Fig. 3;

Fig. 8 is a side view showing one form of timing adjusting means;

V Fig. 9 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line 9'-9 of Fig.l;

Fig. 10 is a side elevational view showing a modified form of thepresent invention; and

Fig. 11 is an end view of the machine illustrated in Fig. 10.

Described generally, the present transferring mechanism or lehr loadingdevice comprises along '(Figs. 1-4) a framework I having mountedthereand a pusher bar 5 and drive mechanism 1. The

f pusher bar drive mechanism 1 is adapted to actuate the pusher bar 5 intimed relationship with respect to the movement of the conveyor beltland transfer disc 2 and to thereby push or transfer glass articlesspaced along the conveyor A belt l from the belt onto an angulardisposed belt the like, having secured to the upper surface 8 of anannealing lehr.

Referring again to the drawings, there is shown a frame 1 comprising aplurality of suitably spaced upright supporting legs l0 having mountedthereon horizontally positioned drive support angles ll. Adjacent oneside of the support angles H is positioned a disc drive base [3, and atthe other side thereof is shown a conveyor drive base M. A pushermechanism drive base [6 is secured by bolts I! to the upper ends of anextension 9 of the frame legs l0 and is bolted at the outwardly disposedend thereof to a knee brace is. The legs H] of the frame or table I maybe fixed in position on a base or floor by bolts 20 which extend throughapertures in retaining angles 22.

' The transfer disc and operating mechanism 2, referred to in,connection with the general deon a platform 23 welded or otherwisesecured to the disc drive base !3. The transfer disc preferablycomprises a lower disc 24, of cast iron or thereof a separate disc 25made of some softer material such as aluminum, each of the discs beingcarried by a vertically disposed and rotatproven satisfactory.

of a suitable speed reducer 29. A one-quarter horsepower motor 28normally turning at 1725 revolutions per minute and a speed reducer 29having a range of 8 to 1 with output revolutions per minute of 16.5 to 2have proven satisfactory. A suitable, commercially available disc driveis that known by the trade name Speedrangerff The rotating uppertransfer disc 25 normally receives glass articles from a moving conveyorbelt (not shown) and transfers them to the movin conveyor belt 3|, whichis substantially tangentially disposed with respect to the edge of thedisc 25. Various forms of guide bars or wires (not shown) maybe'utilized to assist in the movement or guiding of articles from thetransfer disc 25 to the belt 3|.

The conveyor belt 3| transfers the articles, delivered thereto by therotating disc 25, to a position adjacent the push bar 5. The conveyorbelt 3| is shown carried by and travelling along the horizontallypositioned flanges of spaced angle members 32 and 33 which formsupporting tracks for the conveyor. The flanges of the spaced angles 32and 33 are preferably so disposed vertically that the -upper surface ofthe belt 3| is substantially at the same level as the upper surface ofthe disc 25 so that articles may readily move from the disc 25 onto theadjacent moving conveyor belt 3|.

The horizontally disposed flange of the inner angle member 35 is shownrecessed or cut away at its opposite ends 35 and 36. This constructionfacilitates positioning of the transfer discs and operating mechanism 2at either end of the conveyor belt mechanism, with the edge of the upperdisc 25 substantially tangential to an edge of the belt 3|. The conveyordrive mechanism may likewise be shifted from the position shown in Figs.3 and 4 to the opposite side of the machine so that the conveyor beltmay be driven in either direction from either end'thereo'f and so thatthe disc 25 and itsdrive mechanism is adapted to feed glassware to thebelt from either end thereof; with some lehrs it is desirable to usewhat may be termed a left hand machine and other lehr arrangements makea right hand machine preferable. The angle supports 32 and 33 may haveextra sets of mounting holes to facilitate interchanging the disc andconveyor drives.

A conveyor chain or belt havinga width of 7 /2 inches has been foundsuitable in actual practice and it may be driven by sprockets 31 (Figs.and 3) keyed to a shaft 38, whic h is in turn connected by a flexiblecoupling 40 and shaft 4| with a speed reducer 42 and motor 43. Aone-quarter horsepower motor 43 normally turning at 1140 revolutions perminute and a speed reducer 42 having 'a speed range of 8 to 1 withoutput revolutions per minute of 30 to 3.7 have Adjacent the push bar 5,the conveyor belt 3| is preferably guided by and between spaced plate orguide members 44 and 45 (Fig. 6)., the upper surfaces of whicharesubstantially level with the upper surface of the conveyor belt 3|. Theoutwardly disposed plate member is shown with a tapered edge 41 andretained in position against the horizontal flange of the angle 32 by aspacer member 48 and bolts 49.. The tapered outer edge of the upperplate member 44 is adapted to fit close to the upper surface of the lehrconveyor 8 to thereby'facilitate smooth or even movement of glassarticles from the conveyor belt 3l, across the surface of the plate 4member 44, and onto the moving lehr conveyor 8.

The rotating disc 25 delivers the articles to the conveyor belt 3|continuously so that the articles move in a line in front of the pushermechanism, and the pusher mechanism moves the push bar 5at such timedintervals that a plurality of glass articles are moved from the belt 3|onto the lehr belt 8. The push bar and its operating mechanism areactuated in timed relationship with respect to the moving conveyor belt3| so that the push bar 5 removes articles from the belt at each forwardstroke and so that 'upon the return stroke it elevates to clear articleswhich have moved with the belt during a forward stroke of the push bar;this latter elevating feature will be hereinafter described.

The push bar and its operating mechanism are preferably located atapproximately the midportion of the length of the conveyor belt 3| (Fig.3-) and the push bar 5 is shown carried adjacent the lower end of spacedlinks or depending members '50 by bolts 5| which may extend throughslots 52 in the links 50. The slot and bolt arrangement facilitatesvarying the height of the push bar with respect to the upper surface ofthe conveyor 3| so that the Push bar may be effective to move an articleby pressing against that portion which is least likely to overturn it.

The links 50 are pivotally or rotatably secured to spaced arms orcarrying members 55, with upper parts of the links 50 extending upwardlypast angle or stop members 56. The upper ends of the link extensions 51are connected by studs 59, spring clips 5|, springs 62, spring clips 63,and studs 64 with thea'rms or carrying members 55 at locations spacedfrom the outer ends thereof. The springs 62 thus serve to yieldably urgeor pull the link extensions '51 against the stop members 56. In theevent the push bar should strike or press against a relatively immovableobject or article the push bar and its carrying links 50 may move aboutthe pivot or rotatable mounting 54 in opposition to the retainin effectof the spring or other yieldable member 62. When the obstruction isremoved the springs 62 serve to returnthe linkextensions 51 and links50, together with the push bar 5, to

their normal operative positions.

The desired spacing of the outer ends "of the carrying arms 55 may 'bemaintained by a suitable separator rod'58. The opposite ends of the armsor carrying "members '55 are preferably rotatably connected with spacedu'pr i'g'ht members Tl by bearings 65, studs '61, washers '68 and nuts1|) (Fig. 9), the upright members being retained in spaced relationshipby a channel or bracing member 13. The lower portions of the spacedupright side members 1| are preferably provided with upper and lower'gui'derollers I5 and 11 retained in operative position on the sidemembers by nuts" and bolts'19. The guide rollers 16 and 11 are adaptedto travel along brass strips or rails and 8| retained in recesses of thepusher drive base I6 'by screws 82.

As the frame 59 com-prised of the spaced upright side members 1| andlower spacing members 5B which carry thepusher bar5 adjacent new.

right or left (Figsil-B) In connection with return movement of the pushbar 5 toward an initial position at the left of Figs. 1, 2 and 3, it isdesirable to first Withdraw the push'ba'r slightly from the glassarticles and to thereafter elevate the push bar so that it may clearadditional glas articles moving along with the conveyor belt 3| to aposition where they may be transferredfrom the conveyor 3I by asucceeding pusher stroke. This desirable withdrawing and elevatingmovement'may be achieved by means of cam members 92 shown supporting thearms 55 and operated by the shafts 81 in timed relationship with respectto the translatory motion given the push bar 5 by the slide-frame 69 andits operating means. As the shafts 81 rotate the cranks 89 in acounter-clockwise direction from the position shown in Fig. 1, the

arms 55 move toward the left. Since the cams 92 are also fixed to thehubs 8 of the shafts 81 and rotates with it, the exterior surfaces 93 ofthe cam serve to lift the spaced arms 55 upwardly simultaneously withthe longitudinal movement of th arms 55 caused by the slide frame 69. InFig. 2 the arms 55 are shown in elevated position.

To facilitate obtaining a desired timing relationship between thelongitudinal movement of the members 55 caused by the slide frame 69 andthe elevational movement caused by the cam surfaces 93, the crankmembers 89 are preferably provided with arcuate slots 94 through whichextend bolt or studs 95 carried by and threaded into the cams 92; withthis construction the cranks 89 may be shifted angularly with respectWhen a desired setting or selective determination has been made, thestuds 95 may be tightened against shoulders 91 of the arcuate slots 94to retain the correct setting- In order tofacilitate maintaining correctspacing and guiding of the carrying arms or members 55, there arepreferably provided cam flange plates I08 on each of the hubs 88, theupwardly extending edges IIII of the cam flange plates being inwardlydisposed with respect to the vertical side surfaces of the carrying arms55. With this construction the cam surface 93 effect elevation andlowering of the arms 55 and the outwardly extending flanges IIlI act asguideways or tracks for maintaining the correct spacing and guiding ofthe arms 55; thus the push bar 5 carried by the arms 55 sweeps acrosssubstantially the same area of the belt 3I at each forward strokethereof and effectively co-ordinates with movement of the belt 3| forremoving glass articles from it.

A one-half horsepower electric motor 85 normally turning at 1725revolutions per minute and a speed reducer 86 havin a speed range of 8to 1 with output revolutions per minute of 16.5 to 2 have provensatisfactory, but it will be understood that any suitable drive oroperating mechanisms may be utilized for actuating the pusher mechanism,the disc mechanism or the conveyor drive mechanism.

Sinc the operation of the present lehr loader or transferring device hasbeen brought out hereinabove in connection with the description, it isbelieved that further discussion of the operation at this point isunnecessary.

In Figs. 10 and 11 there is shown a modified form of the present lehrloader or transferring device. In this form the arms or push barcarrying members 55a are joined by connecting rods 98a with rotatablecrank or disc members 89a, the latter members being keyed to a rotatableshaft I83. The shaft I83 may be rotated by an electric motor I09 throughthe intermediation of a drive belt I65, speed reducer I 06, drive beltIU'I, suitable gearing I88, shaft and gearin I89 and drive belt I I0. 7

A cam 9211 supports the arms 55a and is effective to elevate and lowerthese arms in timed relationship with respect to the longitudinalmovement of the member 55a. The cam 92a may be rotated by a shaft III,to which it is keyed, by means of a drive belt H3 which is alsoconnected with the same shaft and gearin I89 which rotates the shaft I93that carries the con- .necting rod or disc a.

The transferring disc 25a may be rotated by an electric motor 28athrough the intermediation of suitable speed reducers 29a, drive beltIN! and intermeshing gears H5 and II 6, the latter gea being carried bythe shaft 26a. I

The conveyor belt 3Ia may be rotated by an electric motor 43a, speedreducing mechanism 42a, and drive belt I I I.

The drives for the conveyor belt'3Ia and the transferring disc 35a maybe interchanged similarly to the preferred embodiment, dependng upon theparticular side of the mechanism from which it is desired to feedarticles of glassware. In some instances it has been found satisfactoryto utilize a 4 to 1 drive for the transferring disc 35a and 6 to 1drives for the pusher mechanism, and the conveyor mechanism. Speedreducing mechanisms of the Link-Belt type have performed satisfactorilyWith this modified form of the invention.

It will be seen that the present invention provides a new and improvedlehr loader or ware transferring device having the push bar thereofdriven by a relatively simplified drive mechanism. Elevating camsdirectly support the push bar carrying arms and are available for readyinspection at all times. Selective determination of timing relationshipbetween longitudinal and vertical movements of the push bar carryingarms and the push bar may be readily made by changing the angularrelationship of the crank with respect to the elevating cam. The drivesfor the conveyor belt and the transferring disc may be readilyinterchanged so that the lehr loader may be operated at either side of alehr; that is, ware may be taken on at either side of the lehr loader.Maintaining of the push bar supporting arms in correctly spacedrelationship at all times is facilitated by interiorly disposed camflange plates, which form with the cam surfaces guideways or tracks forthe spaced arms. Drive mechanisms are readily accessible for inspection,adjustment or maintenance. The device is-rugged in construction and welladapted to withstand the rough usage to which it may be subjected.

As various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangementof the parts herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the'inventionand without sacrificing any of its advantages, it is to beunderstood that all matter herein is to be interpreted as illustrativeand not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described our invention, we claim: 1. In a glasswaretransferring device, the combination of a push bar, anarm carryingsaidpush .bar adjacent one end of said arm, movable means operativelyconnected with said arm adjacent the other end thereof for actuatingsaid arm to achieve movement of the push bar substantially transverselyof a conveyor belt, a trackway for guiding said movable means, cam-meanssupporting said arm intermediate the ends thereof adapted to elevate thearm-carrying end thereof during movement to an initial position, and adrive shaft connected with said cam means for rotating the cam means andconnected with said movable means for moving it.

2. In a device of the class described, the combination of a push bar, anarm carrying said push bar, a movable frame pivotally connected-withsaid arm adjacent one end thereof, a trackway for guiding said frameduring movement thereof, a rotatable shaft, a cam supporting said armandfixedly connected with said shaft, and means connecting saidrotatable shaft with said movable frame, whereby rotation of said shaftis effective to cause substantially longitudinal movement of the frameand rotary movement of said supporting cam in timed relationship withrespect to each other.

3. In a device of the class described, the combination of a push bar,anarm carrying said push bar, a movable frame pivotally connected withsaid arm adjacent one end thereof, a trackway for guiding said frameduring movement thereof, a rotatable shaft, a cam supporting said arm atthe underside thereof and fixedly connected with said shaft, and a crankmember operatively connecting said rotatable shaft with said movableframe, whereby rotation of said shaft is effective to causesubstantiallylongitudinal movement of the frame and rotary movement of saidsupporting cam in timed relationship with respect to each other.

4. In a device of the class described, the combination of a push bar, anarm carrying said push bar, a movable frame pivotally connected withsaid arm adjacent one end thereof, a trackway for guiding said frameduring movement thereof, a rotatable shaft, a-camsupporting'said arm atthe underside thereof and fixedly connected with said shaft, a crankmember operatively connecting said rotatable shaft with said movableframe, whereby rotation of said-shaft is efiectiveto cause substantiallylongitudinal-movement of the frame and rotary movement "of saidsupporting cam in timed relationship with .-respect to each other, andmeans for selectively determining said 'timed relationship comprising aretaining member carried by said cam .-extending through a slot in saidcrank member.

5. In a glassware transferring device, the combination of a pushbar, anarm carryingsaid-push bar, a rotatable shaft, a crank and a connectingrod operatively connected withsaid arm'and with said shaft wherebyrotation of said shaft-effects substantially longitudinal movement .of.said farm with the push bar carried thereby, a cam-like membersupporting said'arm'at the undersidegand intermediate the endsthereof,.and means -.operatively connecting said rotatable shaftwithsaid :member :and said .crank and connecting rod-may be driven intimed relationship with respect to each other.

-6. A glassware transferring device comprising, the combination of arotatable transfer disc adapted to receive glass articles and transferthem to a moving conveyor belt, a conveyor belt adapted to receivearticles from said transfer disc and convey them to a position adjacentan annealing lehr, a pusher bar positioned adjacent said conveyor belt,an arm carrying said pusher bar, a rotatable shaft, a crank and aconnecting rod operatively connected with said arm whereby rotation ofsaid shaft effects substantially longitudinal movement of said arm withthe pusher bar carried thereby and said pusher bar moves glassware fromsaid conveyor belt onto a lehr conveyor, a cam-like member supportingsaid arm at the underside and intermediate the ends thereof, and meansoperatively connecting said rotatable shaft with saidcam-like member,whereby the latter mentioned member and said crank and connecting rodmay be driven in timed relationship-with respect to each other.

'7. In a mechanism for removing glassware from a conveyor, thecombination of a vertically and generally longitudinally movable .arm, apush bar carried by and normally retained in fixed position with respectto said arm, a rotatable cam. said arm resting at its undersurfaceagainst a supporting surface of said cam, means for simul- 'taneouslymoving said arm longitudinally androtating said cam to thereby move thearm verztically together with said push bar, whereby said pushbar mayelevate and move transversely over the conveyor so as to pass over anyglasswareon the conveyor.

8. In a mechanism for removingv glassware from a conveyor, thecombinationof a vertically and generally longitudinally movable arm, apush bar carried by and-normally retained in fixed position with respectto said arm, a rotatable cam for supporting :said arm,.a guide member,means movable to .and .fro along said ,guide member,

- additional means operatively connected with said first means and withsaid rotatable cam for simultaneously moving said first means and armlongitudinally to and fro and forrotating said cam to thereby move thearm vertically together with said push bar, whereby said push bar mayelevate and move transversely over the conveyor so as to pass overanyglassware on the conveyor.

9. In a glassware transferring mechanism, the combination of .a push barfor removing glasswere from a conveyor, a pair of spaced arms movablevertically and generally longitudinally and carrying said push bar, apair of rotatable cams, said .arms resting at their undersurfacesagainst .supporting surfaces of said .cams, guiding flanges projectingvertically beyond the supporting surfaces of said cams and extendingalongside portions of said arms for maintaining the arms in alignmentwith saidsupporting surfaces of the cams, .and means for rotating thecams to vertically .move the arms and for longitudinally moving the armsto effectsubstantially crosswise movement of the push bar with respectto said'conveyor.

10. In a glassware transferring mechanism, the combinationof -a push.bar for removing glassware from a conveyor, an arm movable verticallyand generally longitudinally .and carrying said push bar, a cam, said.arm restingat its undersurface .againsta supporting surfaceof said.cam,.a guidcam-like member, whereby the latter mentioned .ing flangeprojecting vertically beyond the supporting surface of said cam andextending alongside a portion of said arm for maintaining the arm inalignment with said supporting surface of the cam, and means forrotating the cam to vertically move the arm and for longitudinallymoving the arm to efiect substantially crosswise movement of the pushbar with respect to said conveyor.

11. In a glassware transferring device of the class described, thecombination of a push bar, a lengthwise oscillatable and verticallymovable arm carrying said push bar, means including a rotatable memberfor oscillating said arm lengthwise to effect movement of the push baracross a conveyor and removal of glassware from the conveyor, arotatable cam member supporting said arm adapted to elevate the armduring lengthwise movement thereof toward an initial position, andselectively settable means including a slot in one of said members and apin carried by the other of said members and. projecting 10 through saidslot operatively interconnecting said arm-and said cam member foradjusting the timing of said vertical movement with respect tolengthwise movement of said arm.

OPAL SMITH. ORAL C. DUDLEY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,427,164 Niver Aug. 29, 19221,662,271 Johnson Mar. 13, 1928 1,869,767 Nagle et a1. Aug. 2, 19322,077,830 Failinger Apr. 20, 1937 2,080,858 Dorman May 18, 19372,094,497 Ross Sept. 28, 1937 2,096,656 Stoulil Oct. 19, 1937

